Good Girl Gone Wild: When Lust Turns to Passion... (Good and Wild) (6 page)

YOU
REALLY ROCKED MY WORLD! – NICK

And
the next:

CAN
WE DO LUNCH ON MONDAY? OUT OF TOWN TODAY, CAN’T GET OUT OF IT.

And
the last, received at 7:14 am:

GOOD
MORNING! MONDAY?

She
replied to the last:

MONDAY
SOUNDS GOOD. MEET YOU AT THE CAFÉ 12NN

She
set down her phone, only to get a message almost immediately.

WHEW!
OK CU MONDAY CANT WAIT

Christine
grinned, feeling a tingle of anticipation at the thought of seeing Nick again.
Her hand wandered to her left nipple, which was still tender from the attention
Nick gave it the night before, rubbing meditatively. She closed her eyes as she
relived the sensation. She sighed, and her hand fell away. She suddenly wanted to
see him again. Badly.

She
wandered out of their bedroom two hours later after a leisurely shower, dressed
in jeans, a cowl shirt and sneakers, carrying her laptop under her arm. “I’ll
be at the café!” she called out, not venturing into the kitchen in case Lisa
had some time on her hands after all.

“Wait,
Chrissy!” Lisa said, poking her head out of the door. There was a smudge of
white on her nose, but otherwise looked in control. “What are you doing after
lunch?”

Christine
shrugged, eyeing her warily. “I was planning to catch up on some work. Why?”

“I
need to have this wedding cake delivered, but I can’t go with the van, I have
to do a lot of prep work for tomorrow. Can you go and do the pretty for me?”
she pleaded. Lisa always went to deliver wedding cakes herself; the personal
touch, so to speak.

Christine
thought about it. It was a two hour trip to the wedding venue, but Lisa’s
regular delivery guy, Pete, wasn’t the type who had to keep talking all the
time. She could work on the way, be out of touch when Lisa did find a couple of
minutes to herself, and be back when she was too tired to get inquisitive. She
couldn’t keep it up forever, but she didn’t feel like talking about Nick just
yet.

“Okay,”
she agreed, and Lisa threw her a kiss before ducking back into the kitchen to
get on with her decorating. Christine twiddled her fingers at the empty doorway
and sauntered out. She worked on her current project, had a sandwich for lunch,
and went back to the apartment just before 3 pm. The refrigerated delivery
truck was parked at the curb, and Christine sketched a salute at Pete before
going in.

The
wedding cake was rather wonderful, the biggest that Lisa had done so far. It
had three layers, stood 3 feet high, festooned with delicate sugar-lilies and
edible lace. Christine regarded it with some awe as Lisa bustled around to put
in the finishing touches.

“You’re
really good, Lise,” she proclaimed with some pride. Lisa looked up, a carving
tool in her hand.

“Thanks,”
she said, gratified. “It’s been a bitch, but it looks pretty good, doesn’t it?”
She paused to admire it, her arm around Christine’s waist, and Christine felt a
wave of affection for her sister.

“It
looks wonderful,” Christine said firmly, giving her a squeeze. “It looks heavy,
though, does Pete know?”

Lisa
nodded. “Yeah, he has a couple of muscle boys with him. “ She rubbed her palms
together nervously. “Well, we’d better get them in here, it’s a delicate
operation.”

It
was a nerve racking 5 minutes getting the cake through the door, which was
barely high and wide enough to accommodate it, but it was finally done, and
then another 10 nail-biting minutes down the stairs to the waiting van.

Lisa
breathed a sigh of relief as the van’s roll down snapped shut.  Christine ran
back up to grab a jacket, tying her hair up in a ponytail. Lisa gave her some
last-minute instructions, the name of the bride and her number in case of
problems, and then waved her away. Christine and the cake were finally
underway.

The
trip was uneventful, Pete a careful driver and keeping conversation light and
non-intrusive. Christine got some work done and before she knew it, they were
pulling up at the service entrance of the hotel. She supervised the unloading
of the cake, making sure it was in a prominent position in the ballroom where
the reception was to be. She then went to look for the bride.

“I’ll
be back in a bit,” Christine threw over her shoulder at Pete. She was to ride
back with him once she did the pretty with the bride. If she could get to her.

It
turned out that the bride was closeted with the make-up and hair people, and
Christine spent a frustrating five minutes at the reception desk trying to
coordinate with the snooty man behind it.

“Listen,
I just need 30 seconds to tell the bride that the cake is here, and to
congratulate her,” Christine argued, feeling her temper rise by degrees. “I
promised my sister I would do it personally.”

“As
I have said several times, madame,” the infuriating man said in a patient
talking-to-a-five-year-old tone that made her grit her teeth, “the bride cannot
be disturbed at this time. Perhaps a handwritten note—“

“Christine!”

Christine
whirled around, startled. Kate, looking perky and pretty in shorts, striped
shirt and flip-flops flitted up to her, looking pleased.

“Hi,
Kate,” she replied, smiling slightly. Kate was such a bubbly person that one
couldn’t help liking her.

“Are
you also attending the wedding?” Kate asked.

Christine
shook her head, but before she could answer, Nick came up to them.

He
had been distracted that whole day, something Kate twitted him about
good-naturedly during the drive over. He had already decided to drive back
right after the wedding rather than stay overnight, as they had originally planned,
on the off-chance he could see Christine. Kate would not be hard to convince. 
He handed over the keys to the valet and stepped into the lobby to see Kate
talking to the object of his distraction, and he was conscious of an
overwhelming feeling of gladness at the sight of her tall figure next to his
diminutive cousin. Christine was looking down indulgently at Kate, a small
smile on her face, when she looked up and saw his approach. Her smile grew
wider, and Kate was quick to see the look that passed between them. Kate was
feeling very smug about what she considered her coup.

“Hey!”
he said softly, leaning in for a kiss. Christine put her face up to receive it,
a smile curving her lips as they connected.  “What are you doing here?” He was
wearing a tight-fitting white shirt that showed off his muscled chest and arms
and button-fly straight jeans. He looked quite yummy.

“I
delivered the cake for a wedding—the wedding you’re attending, apparently,”
Christine explained. In the corner of her eye, she saw Pete trying to catch her
attention. She raised a hand in acknowledgement, and Nick followed the
direction of her gaze. He saw a slim, dark-haired young man, good looking under
his baseball cap, and felt a twinge of jealousy. “This man won’t let me see the
bride,” Christine continued, indicating the receptionist, who had been watching
the byplay with some caution. He well knew the St. Claires, and they seemed to
be on friendly terms with this particular supplier.

Kate
turned her green eyes on him, and he wondered how such a small lady could be so
intimidating. “Why won’t you let her in to see Janine?”she demanded.

The
receptionist launched into a voluble explanation, which Kate cut off
unceremoniously by taking Christine by hand, and demanding Janine’s room
number. He quailed under her glare, and gave it to her.

Christine
and Kate headed for the elevator, Kate telling her all sorts of things about
Janine, who was a friend from high school. Nick listened to her chatter,
watching Christine all the time. She was giving Kate all her attention, her
face lit up with amusement, and he had a weird feeling that she wasn’t as aware
of his presence as he was of her.

They
got to the bride’s room, Nick banned into the hallway. He waited impatiently
for them to come out, which they finally did after five long minutes, Kate
blowing back kisses. Christine came up to him, smiling.

“Mission
accomplished,” she said in a confiding tone, and he grinned at her. Kate
finally tore herself away, closing the door with a decisive click.

“Christine
won’t come to the wedding,” she complained, and Christine turned to her.

“You
totally twisted your friend’s arm to invite me. You really shouldn’t have done
that.” She turned to Nick. “In any case, I have to go back, Pete’s waiting for
me.”

Kate
pouted at her, but saw Christine wasn’t to be budged. They went down together
to the lobby, where Christine left them to check in after a brief goodbye.

She
was halfway to the waiting van when Nick caught up to her.

“Do
you really have to go back right now?” he asked, conscious of Pete who was
waiting by the van.

Christine
looked up, puzzled. “Yes, of course. Pete can’t wait any longer, he has to go
back.”

“Is
Pete…”Nick started, the stopped, at a loss for words. What was he going to ask?
Are you also sleeping with Pete? Is he your boyfriend? Somehow he knew it was
not something he should put out there.

Christine
was frowning now. “Pete’s the delivery guy, I hitched a ride when he brought
the cake. What did you think?”

Nick
shrugged, feeling slightly ashamed of his thoughts. Christine had told him she
did not sleep around, so why did he instantly picture her in this guy’s arms,
naked and moaning, and feeling very murderous about it?

“I
was just wondering if he minded if you stayed behind,” he temporized, running
his hand lightly up her bare arm. He heard her breath quicken at his touch, and
saw the look of indecision in her eyes.

“I
don’t know if that’s a good idea, Nick,” she said, feeling herself weakening as
he continued to rub her arm lightly. It made her think of the night before,
when he did the very same thing as they lay spooned together.

“I
have a room, you can stay the night,” he whispered persuasively in her ear, and
a tingle of anticipation ran up and down her spine as his breath fanned her
cheek. “Please?”

Oh,
she wanted to! She glanced uncertainly at Pete, who was shuffling his feet,
whistling, and studiously averting his gaze. She made a sudden decision.

“Okay.”

His
hand stilled its restless movement, and gripped her arm with some strength. He
again had a dopey grin on his face, and Nick reflected that this woman affected
him in strange ways.

“Okay,”
he echoed, relief in his voice.

“Let
me just tell Pete,” Christine said, feeling excited at the prospect of spending
an uninterrupted night with Nick. She stepped away and took a steadying breath
before walking over to Pete. She explained that she had met up with two
friends, and would stay longer. They would bring her back home later. She
ignored Pete’s knowing grin, telling him she’d call Lisa and explain.  She
watched the van drive away, her laptop in her knapsack, and was conscious of a
feeling of exhilaration and some naughtiness. She intended to get fully ready
for her night with Nick.

She
called Lisa, giving vague answers to her questions when she informed her sister
that she would be staying overnight, promising to tell her all about it the
next day. She went back to the lobby with a calm she didn’t feel, steadfastly
refusing Kate’s renewed exhortations to join them for the wedding. She didn’t
mention the fact that Christine would be sharing Nick’s room.

“I
have nothing to wear, Kate, and I’ll be sadly out of place there. You two
enjoy,” Christine insisted, looking at Nick, who preserved a stoic expression.  “I’ll
be fine, I have some work to get done.”
And how!
 she silently added, to
herself, smiling at her secret thoughts.

Nick
caught the smile, and suddenly couldn’t wait to get her alone.

“Let’s
go get settled in,” he suggested, and the girls went along readily enough.

Nick
felt unwontedly nervous as he slid the keycard in the slot, Christine standing
patiently next to him. He gestured her to go in, slinging his overnight bag to
one corner as he closed the door behind him.

“Nice,”
Christine murmured, looking out the window, keeping her gaze firmly away from
the king-sized bed. She felt him come up behind her and then his arms slid
around her waist as he kissed the side of her neck, sending shivers though out
her body. She settled back against him, feeling weak-kneed.

“Oh,
baby,” he murmured, his restless hands wreaking havoc with her equilibrium. She
put a hand against them, stilling their exploration.

“Later,
Nick,” she said, turning her head to look up at him, her eyes full of promise.
He looked down at her, then reluctantly let her go.  He ran a hand through his
hair as he stepped back, sighing gustily.

“You
drive me crazy,” he said, his frustration thickening his voice, and Christine
found it distinctly erotic. “I can’t seem to get enough of you.”

“I
feel the same way,” Christine whispered, stepping up to him and brushing back
that stubborn lock of hair from his forehead. She made to move away but he dipped
his head and kissed her, his mouth slightly open so that his tongue could dart
between her lips. The feel of his tongue rasping past her lips, tasting her,
made the warmth surge between her legs, and she found herself arching her body
against him, wanting to feel his arousal against her sex. He helped her by
placing his hands on her ass, pressing her against him. It was there, straining
against the barriers of the thick cloth of their jeans, and she let out a small
whimper as she felt the electricity shoot down to the soles of her feet. She
slowly rotated her hips, rubbing against him so that he groaned, and he plunged
his tongue deeper and much more roughly in her mouth, his hands kneading her
ass, grinding her against him. Suddenly, he picked her up and threw her on the
bed, his hands stuttering against his belt.